Vietnam is central to Australia's strategic relationship with Southeast Asia.

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh welcomes Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese on his first official visit to Vietnam - Photo: VGP/Nhat Bac

At the invitation of Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese paid an official visit to Vietnam from June 3-4, 2023.

On the morning of June 4, right after the official welcoming ceremony, the Prime Ministers of the two countries met and held talks at the Government Office.

At the talks, in an atmosphere of openness, sincerity, trust and mutual understanding, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh warmly welcomed Mr. Anthony Albanese on his first official visit to Vietnam as Prime Minister; assessing the visit as having important significance, taking place on the occasion of the two countries celebrating the 50th anniversary of establishing diplomatic relations and the 5th anniversary of the Strategic Partnership, creating new momentum for the relationship between the two countries.

The two Prime Ministers held talks at the Government Office - Photo: VGP/Nhat Bac

The Prime Minister also congratulated Australia on its socio-economic development achievements; thanked Australia for always accompanying and supporting Vietnam in the cause of national construction and development; and emphasized that Vietnam always values ​​and wishes to strengthen the friendship and cooperation with Australia.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese thanked the delegation for their warm and thoughtful reception and congratulated Vietnam on its important achievements in socio-economic recovery and development, becoming one of the 40 largest economies in the world and having an increasingly important role and position in the international arena.

The two Prime Ministers were pleased to see that the bilateral relationship is developing well and effectively in all areas, looking towards the future.

Prime Minister Anthony emphasized that Australia values ​​the Strategic Partnership with Vietnam and identifies Vietnam as central in the process of building Australia's strategic relationship with the Southeast Asian region.

The two Prime Ministers were pleased to see that the bilateral relationship is developing well and effectively in all areas, looking towards the future. High-level delegation exchanges and contacts have been taking place actively. The Action Program to implement the Strategic Partnership for the 2020-2023 period has achieved many specific results.

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh emphasized that Vietnam always attaches importance to and wishes to strengthen the friendship and cooperation with Australia - Photo: VGP/Nhat Bac

Trade cooperation is a bright spot, with two-way trade reaching nearly 16 billion USD in 2022, up 30% compared to 2021, and the two countries have become one of each other's top 10 trade partners. National defense and security cooperation is increasingly effective and substantive, especially in training and supporting UN peacekeeping operations, combating transnational crime and cybercrime. Cooperation in the fields of agriculture, education and training, labor, and people-to-people exchange has developed strongly.

The two sides agreed to increase delegation exchanges and high-level contacts, across the Party, National Assembly and Government channels, and enhance people-to-people exchanges; develop a new Action Program; continue to promote economic, trade and investment cooperation, thereby effectively implementing the Plan to implement the Enhanced Economic Engagement Strategy (EEES) between the two countries for the 2021-2025 period; strengthen connectivity between the two economies; promote cooperation in defense, security, justice and other important areas such as ODA, education and training, science and technology, labor, transportation, tourism, climate change response and digital transformation. In that spirit, the two sides agreed to promote upgrading relations to a new level in the future.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese affirmed that Australia wishes to continue expanding security and defense cooperation with Vietnam; affirmed to continue maintaining ODA cooperation; agreed to promote two-way investment cooperation; and continued to increase scholarships for Vietnamese students - Photo: VGP/Nhat Bac

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh affirmed that he would create favorable conditions for Australian businesses to invest in Vietnam in the fields of infrastructure development, telecommunications, finance-banking, education, high-tech agriculture, green transformation, digital transformation, and population data building. He asked Australia to create favorable conditions for Vietnamese businesses to invest in Australia in the fields of mining, agriculture, e-commerce, aviation, and tourism. He asked Australia to create favorable conditions to expand the market for Vietnamese export goods. He highly appreciated Australia's 2.5% increase in ODA for Vietnam in the 2023-2024 fiscal year and suggested considering ODA cooperation as an important element in the future partnership.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese affirmed that Australia wishes to continue expanding security and defense cooperation with Vietnam; affirmed to continue maintaining ODA cooperation; agreed to promote two-way investment cooperation; continued to increase scholarships for Vietnamese students; agreed to review the Aviation Agreement (1995) to adjust the increase in the number of flights between the two countries; agreed to actively implement cooperation in new areas of cooperation such as digital economy, digital transformation... Prime Minister Anthony Albanese announced a support package of 105 million Australian dollars for Vietnam for cooperation in infrastructure, climate change response and energy transition.

The two sides agreed to continue to strengthen cooperation and close coordination at multilateral forums, especially the United Nations, ASEAN, APEC, etc. Photo: VGP/Nhat Bac

The two sides agreed to continue to strengthen cooperation and close coordination at multilateral forums, especially the United Nations, ASEAN, APEC, etc. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese affirmed that Australia attaches importance to the Australia-ASEAN Comprehensive Strategic Partnership and always supports the central role of ASEAN; will make Vietnam a focus in the Southeast Asia Economic Strategy to 2040 that Australia is building; and will continue to promote cooperation in the Mekong sub-region.

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh emphasized his support for Australia to organize the Summit to celebrate the 50th anniversary of ASEAN-Australia Partnership in Australia with effective and practical content. The Australian Prime Minister supported Vietnam to host APEC 2027.

The talks took place in an atmosphere of intimacy and mutual understanding - Photo: VGP/Nhat Bac

Discussing the situation in the East Sea, the two leaders emphasized the importance of maintaining and promoting peace, security, stability, safety and freedom of navigation and aviation in the East Sea; promoting dialogue, enhancing trust, and resolving disputes by peaceful means in accordance with international law, including the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).

The talks took place in an atmosphere of cordiality and mutual understanding. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese respectfully invited Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh to pay an official visit to Australia at a suitable time in 2023. Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh happily accepted the invitation.

The two Prime Ministers witnessed the exchange of four cooperation documents between the two countries and the handover of certificates to open additional direct flights by Vietnam Airlines and Vietjet - Photo: VGP

After the talks, the two Prime Ministers witnessed the exchange of four cooperation documents between the two countries, including the Memorandum of Understanding on the establishment of a ministerial-level dialogue mechanism on trade; the Memorandum of Understanding on the implementation of the second phase of the Vietnam-Australia Innovation Program; and the Memorandum of Understanding on cooperation in exchanging financial intelligence related to money laundering and terrorist financing; the Memorandum of Understanding between the University of Economics Ho Chi Minh City and Western Sydney University on granting scholarships to Vietnamese and regional students; and witnessed the handover ceremony of certificates for opening additional direct flights by Vietnam Airlines and Vietjet./.

Source: https://baotainguyenmoitruong.vn/viet-nam-la-trung-tam-trong-qua-trinh-xay-dung-chien-luoc-quan-he-cua-australia-voi-dong-nam-a-359209.html